Concept and process in exploring ideas
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The first meeting of the Citizens' Panel on Work-Life Harmony, in September, 2019. The panel discussions involved the National Population and Talent Division, Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Social and Family Development and the Institute of Policy Studies (September to November 2019). It had 55 participants.
ST FILE PHOTO
Yuen Sin
Unlike the one-off group discussions seen in previous engagement exercises, such as Remaking Singapore and Our Singapore Conversation, the citizens' panel process took place over four sessions and explored ideas in a more in-depth and rigorous manner.
The concept has also been used to tackle difficult topics like abortion, which was discussed in Ireland, and the construction of nuclear reactors in South Korea.
The panels comprised:
• The Citizens' Jury on the War on Diabetes convened by the Ministry of Health (November 2017 to January 2018) which involved 76 participants.
• The Recycle Right Citizens' Workgroup by the then Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (September-October 2019). A total of 48 people were recruited, but four dropped out.
• The Citizens' Panel on Work-Life Harmony, which involved the National Population and Talent Division, Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Social and Family Development and the Institute of Policy Studies (September to November 2019). It had 55 participants.
Participants were provided with information kits and briefings before the start of the discussions.
Government agencies involved in leading the panels also responded to the needs of participants during the process, such as by connecting them with relevant experts during the process. This allows for participants to go beyond their personal experiences to think about constraints like budget, sustainability and trade-offs.
Many participants also embarked on their own research to test out the viability of their ideas.
Yuen Sin
